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Hyde tabbed as player development director

Cubs tab Hyde as player development director

CHICAGO -- The Cubs promoted Brandon Hyde from Minor League field coordinator to the club's director of player development on Wednesday, replacing Oneri Fleita, who was dismissed earlier this month.

Hyde, 38, spent the last season evaluating the Cubs' Minor League system and said he was excited about some of the talent in the organization.

"The bottom line for us is we're trying to develop impact big leaguers, whether that's pitchers or hitters, we're looking at the whole package," Hyde said. "Our job is to get as many players to play at Wrigley Field as we can who are impact players."

Hyde joined the Cubs last offseason after spending the previous nine seasons in the Marlins' organization, most recently as the club's Major League bench coach from June 23, 2010, through the end of the 2011 season. He said former Marlins manager Jack McKeon was a mentor.

Before working at the big league level, Hyde was the club's Minor League infield coordinator to begin 2010 and spent the previous seven seasons as a Minor League manager and coach in the Marlins' system.

In 2009, his last full season as a Minor League manager, Hyde guided Double-A Jacksonville to the Southern League championship and later that year managed in the Arizona Fall League, leading a team that included Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro.

Hyde will work under Jason McLeod, senior vice president of scouting and player development, and get plenty of input from Cubs manager Dale Sveum on what they want the Minor Leaguers to work on.

"We want to build this Minor League system to where we have complete players when they get here, and there are a lot of things we'll talk about," Sveum said.

That means coming up with a philosophy for the program that everyone follows.

"I think organizations have to have that kind of stuff etched in stone and 'This is the way we want things done and you're not moving up different levels until these things are done,'" Sveum said.

Hyde was headed to Boise on Monday to watch the Class A team, which has made the playoffs. The Cubs' Rookie League team in Mesa also made the playoffs.

"I think it's exciting," Hyde said. "We'll have two lower level clubs in the playoffs, and a lot of them have shown improvement in the second half."

Hyde played four seasons in the White Sox organization from 1997-2000 as a catcher/first baseman, and played independent ball in 2001.

Fleita had overseen the Cubs' Minor League organization and international scouting operations for 12 seasons before he was dismissed on Aug. 15.